I chose to put Common Bent in August because it does not start to flower until well into July, so it fully out by August. Patches of ground that just have Common Bent can stand out in early summer - May, June and early July - because they are green and flowerless then, compared to surrounding areas with other grass flowers.

And where do you find Common Bent?

Common Bent ( Agrostis capillaris ) – small, delicate and inconspicuous - is one of the commonest grasses. Remember running barefoot on the garden lawn as a child? You were probably running on Common Bent, along with needle-leaved Red Fescue. It grows in nutrient poor lawns, acid grassland pastures, sandy soils and in heather moorland.

Heath Bedstraw, Tormentil, Betony, and Bitter Vetchling are some of the prettier wildflowers that can be found on more interesting Common Bent grassland

Up at Winskill which is on limestone rock, Common Bent is only a very minor component of the limestone grassland, but it is the major plant in the hollows that are filled with loess (soil made from dust blown up from surrounding areas at the end of the last ice age) - see below

The light green area with no purple Knapweed is an area with little else except Common Bent - this is where loess is deposited

Its inflorescence is like a spreading Christmas tree with many hundreds of tiny spikelets – tiny because each spikelet contains only one flower. Bents ( Agrostis ) have only one flower per spikelet, Meadow grasses ( Poas ) have several flowers per spikelet

The plants are small and so nondescript – no hairs, no big leaves, no stolons. The emerging leaf is rolled and hairless, and the short narrow 2mm-wide blades come away from the sheath at a wide angle. The ligule is very short. It grows in little tufts and these are linked by rhizomes, but you can't see these as they are underground.

Common Bent becomes much more exciting on metal ore spoil heaps such as at Pikedaw above Malham, where it is one of the very few higher plants that can tolerate the metal pollution. Since nothing much else will grow, a delightful pattern of small tufts arranged within bigger patches can be seen.

Bentham is a small town ten miles from Settle.

Could Bentham mean land of Common Bent?

The word Bentham ( Benetain in the Doomsday book) comes from the word meaning rough grass or reeds.

So I like to think it could refer to Common Bent. However other grasses were once called bent – including. Purple Moor ( Molinia caerulea ) once known as White Bent which grows in abundance in white sheets on damp parts of Newby Moor and the moor south of Bentham.

I hope you found this useful - Why not come on a Grass Identification course? And have fun learning about grasses with other people. J.A.

Aug-Sep 2018: £40 - Thanks to sale of £30 worth of cards form 3 Langcliffe people (total for 2018=£170)

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June-July 2018: £30 - Thanks to sale of cards at Wholesome Bee and Boxer and Hound (total for 2018=£130)

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April-May 2018: £70 including £30 from donation by Settle spinners, £23.50 from sale of cards to Ripon Group visitng St John's and sale of cards to others (total for 2018: £100

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Jan-March 2018:£30

(Total for 2018: £30.00)

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December: £235 made up of £191 at Coffee morning - £127 for Coffee and cakes, £64 for cards; plus £10.50 from Cards sold at Settle Spinners and £20 from one person buying cards and £23.50 from other cards - Total for 2017: £557:

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Sep-Nov 2017: £32.50 including £19.50 from Green Christian JIE Conference and £13 from Cards at Growing with Grace (Total-£312)

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June - Aug 2017: £72.50 including £68 from the talk on "Wildflower Walks around Settle" (Total for 2017: £279.50)

In Dec 2012 - so far - £137 :£65 from Rainforest Coffee morning at church. The following is all from cards: £25.5 from sale of cards at coffee morning, and £25 from cards near coffee morning; : £8 at Langcliffe Inst, £13 Growing with grace £10-50 Wholesome Bee, (Total for 2012 = £712)

In June 2012: £40 : from sale of cards:£18 from people from Scargill House on my wildflowers walk and £16 from Age UK people at haymeadow talk (Total for 2012 = £370)

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In May 2012: £74 : including from cards (£14 from sale of cards at Taitlands Tea room at Stainforth; £15 from CCG meeting at Lower Winskill; £20 from Flowers course at Malham Tarn Field Centre; £17 (Total for 2012 = £330)

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In April 2012: £26: from cards (£15 from A Rocha group at Scargill House (Total for 2012 = £256)

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In March 2012: £130: from cards including £75 from Christian Ecology Link Conference at Bristol and £35 donation from Settle Spinners and £20 from Cards in the foyer at St John's (Total for 2012 = £230)

In Dec 2011: £240 including £90from cards including £32.50 from Langcliffe Inst Christmas Sale, £11-00 at WI pantomine, £20 from people at Settle Christmas Day Lunch and £150 donation (Total for 2011 = £1,000)

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In Nov 2011: £50: From cards including £19.50 from Scottish Dancing (Total for 2011 = £760)

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In Oct 2011: £110: From cards including £45 from Worsley Church and £50 from Settle Mothers Union (Total for 2011 = £710)

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In Sept 2011: £30: From cards (Total for 2011 = £600)

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In August 2011: £20: From cards (Total for 2011 = £570)_________________________

In July 2011: £50: From £36 donation form Settle Spinners, (£6-00 cards from Settle Spinners and £8.00 cards from others (Total for 2011 = £550)_________________________

In June 2011: £85: From the profit from the Saltaire Ladies group who came for salad tea at the church hall - £29 plus the cards they bought - £16.50; The Flowers course at Malham Tarn bought £26 of cards. (Total for 2011 = £500)_________________________In April- May 2011: £55 - From My saving buying food on "Live for a £1-00 a day week": £10; Rest from cards including 1 person at Scottish dancing £15 and people at Plantlife day: £16.50 (Total for 2011 = £415)_________________________

In March 2011: £145 - Mostly from sale of cards including:- £50 from CEL conference, £25 from Horton History Society, £26 from WYSOCS; Also a £20 donation (Total for 2011 = £360)_________________________

In Feb 2011: £65 - all from sale of cards including:- £26 from Austwick Field Society and £25 from Settle Gardening Club (Total for 2011 = £215)_________________________

Starting again..in 2011: £150 in by 31 January 2011 including £109 from the Barn Dance and £26 from cards_________________________

£2600 (£600 in 2010) by Dec 31 2010 - Mostly from Greeting cards, but also £32.21 from Settle Spinners and some from a donation._________________________

£2420 (£420 in 2010) by Sept 20 2010 - From the St John's Coffee Morning in August (£106) . Also from the sale of Greetings Cards, including £28 worth from people on courses at Malham Tarn Field Centre - Acrylics, Grasses, Settle Carlisle Line and Staff)_________________________

£2250 (£250 in 2010) by June 30 2010 - Mostly from the sale of Greetings Cards, including £20 worth from people at "Folk at the Falcon" and £30 from one lady who came to the NISCU evening, and £20 donation from people who came on the Environment Sunday Walk._________________________

£2125 (£125 in 2010) by March 31 2010 - including £100 from sale of Greetings Cards and Calendars and another £25 from collection by Settle Spinning Club

_________________________Nov - December 31st 2009 - including sale of Christmas Cards and Calendars

(Total for 2009 = £567 )_________________________Sep-October 2009 - £60-00:- £52 donations at Day of Prayer on 4 Oct. £8-00 from energy meter and sale of cards

(Total for 2009 = £450)_________________________May-August 2009: £68 - £40 from cards from Choir from Dewsbury, £8-00 from profit on sale of tweezers and lenses, £10- from part of Burton in Lonsdale Ceilidh money, £8-00 sale of cards

(Total for 2009 = £47) _________________________£1433 by December 29th 2008 - including £70 from Settle WI£14 from selling Speaking Tips Booklets£70 from selling home-made Christmas cards_________________________£1279 by November 29th 2008- including £25 from a Langcliffe Singer Lady who is giving it to World Land Trust to a relation as a Christmas Present; £35 from Langcliffe Singers; and donations from a couple for receiving computing tuition_________________________£1172 by October 29th- 2008 including £50 made up from donations from 6 people who borrowed the Owl monitor, and an individual donation for £50 - Thanks._________________________£1050 by September 29th 2008 includingover £100 from the "Addingham Friendly Hour" minibus trip where we made them tea)_________________________£920 by July 29th -2008- includinga donation of £4 by a person borrowing an OWL meter - (for monitoring electricity usage)_________________________£883 by June 20th 2008- includinga donation of £100 for Cool Earth by Settle Line Dance Class at the Church Hall and £10 as the first donation online for Cool Earth, and two other donations._________________________£752 by May 20th 2008 includinga donation of £100 for World Land Trust by a family who donated half an acre of land (£25) for each of their four nephews and nieces, who received certificates._________________________£652 by April 19th 2008- includinga donation of £65 from the group who came for coffee_________________________£587 by April 14th 2008- including£160 for A Rocha Ghana£312 for World Land Trust (including £25 online donation and £30 from Scottish Country Dancing at the Hall£115 for Cool Earth_________________________£467 by April 5th 2008- including£110 for A Rocha Ghana£292 for World Land Trust (including £25 online donation and £30 from Scottish Country Dancing at the Hall£65 for Cool Earth_________________________

£392 by March 9th 2008- including£90 for A Rocha Ghana£237 for World Land Trust£65 for Cool Earth_________________________

£295 by February 9th 2008£80 for A Rocha Ghana and£215 for World Land Trust (which will buy 4 acres of forest.)